Rating: 
Summary: Hmm...
Review: Not that great. It was actually pretty boring. I've seen it a couple of times and each time it leaves me wondering if anything better is on. John Cusack is pretty cute, that's about all that's good with the movie. But the plot is abnoxious and boring, to put it nicely. It doesn't really have much to it and is really predictable. Also it's a very 80's movie (which is not a compliment). And I found about 90% of the characters annoying and unreal. Okay I'm being harsh. Afterall it can't be that horrible if I've seen it several times and I have given it 3 whole stars. Still I wouldn't recommend renting it, instead wait till it comes on tv or borrow it from a friend.
Rating: 
Summary: The best break-up film starring the king of break-up films
Review: With movies like High Fidelity and Say Anything under his belt, John Cusack has retained his title as King of the Break-Up Films, but it was this movie that earned it for him.No matter how bad a break-up you've had, no matter how much your life is swirling down the toilet, this movie will make you feel better. It is impossible to be too depressed to laugh at this film. There are just so many great, odd characters in this film. The Japanese guys who talk like Howard Cosell, the psycho paperboy, Ricky and his mom, Lane's genius little brother... It's just so weird that it's hard to stay stuck in your doldrums with this film throwing so many curve balls. If you're feeling down and need a laugh. This is your film. And if you're not feeling down... great! Good for you!
Rating:
Summary: My Review...
Review: What a funny movie! There was hardly any flaws at all! The film is just an average early 90's still in the 80's kind of film, or so I thought. It about a teen, played by John Cusack who loses his girlfriend to a skier. He trys to win her back by becoming a skier but it all falls through. I forget the guys name, but the guy who played "Booger" in the "Nerd" series, was in this film and he was just as funny...One word Snow! One of the flaws I saw in this movie was between John Cusack and the Forign Exange Student's romance together. There was no build up to it. However they did make up for lost time. This is probably one of Cusacks best films. I personaly liked it better than "Being John Malkovich", being that it had a good plot, then it went down. But these are completly different films so I guess I should not really say anything. So if this flim ever comes out on DVD, I will most definatly get it. An over-all good choice. Those paper-boy scenes were great! I suggest it... Have A Nice LiFE! Ryan
Rating:
Summary: Not that funny - very contrived. Why is this a cult movie?
Review: This movie as one - count it - one joke and that is that the main character is such a loser that he can't even succeed at killing himself. The rest of it is an amalgamation of cliches from a dozen John Hughes movies. When the protagonist wakes up to a room full of his girlfriends' pictures you know that she's going to dump him shortly. When the French exchange student who looks way better than his girlfriend moves next door, you know that she's going to be his happy ending. When you see the girlfriend and her new guy, you wonder why anyone would think this girl is good enough to kill oneself over in the first place. The suicide attempts aren't even that funny. The only reason why I am not giving this movie one star is because John Cusack is enjoyable to watch regardless of what kind of material he ends up with. It took Cameron Crowe to give him Lloyd Dobler (sic?) and make him into a star. He's likeable enough as a loser that you almost forgive him for making you watch the whole movie. For other John Cusack movies watch High Fidelity, Say Anything, or Bullets Over Broadway. For Suicide Comedies you can't beat Heathers. For 80s romance movies even John Hughes is better, but you might want to also try Fast Times at Ridgemont High. For good post-breakup therapy rent out either Swingers or Strange Days (depending on what you feel towards your ex-lover) The only reason why this movie is worth buying is the main reason why I can't stand it. If you want to complete your collection of John Cusack, suicide comedy, teen romance, eighties teen, or breakup movies you should buy it. But there are so many better and more deserving movies in all genres. At least if you buy this movie you know that there are enough people who love it that you can easily resell if if you agree with this review.
Rating:
Summary: A Cult Classic for Those Gen X-ers Who Grew Up in the 80's
Review: Nothing could be funnier than Lane Meyer, a talented, good-looking loser, consoling his overweight, under-socialized neighbor by offering, "Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky", after she exploded during a dinner party by lighting a cigarette after sampling some flammable liquid Lane was about to use to end his "suffering" after his girlfriend dumped him for the best skier in their high school. (Sorry, exhausting long sentence!) But this movie truly has memorable line after memorable line that seem to keep recycling themselves at offices around the country by Generation X-ers who loved John Cusack in his early years. This movie tickles the viewer as it takes you through Lane's up-and-down last year of high school and transforms him from a can't-do loser into a capable winner. I can't tell you how long this movie sat and sat at $90, but at this price, how can this not be included in your home movie collection! To close this review, all I have to say is, "I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS! "
Rating:
Summary: Frequently hysterical surreal comedy
Review: I kept finding myself saying to my wife, "Did you see that, too?" when we watched this for the first time (a little under the influence of too much tea, shall we say?). "Was that the movie, or is it us?" A strange sense of hallucinatory bizarritude permeates this movie and only improves its inventive sight gags and deadpan absurdist situations. Monty Python meets classic American screwball comedy. Strangeness abounds, and is presented as reality, from the manic paperboy to the sleezbo mailman to the spudboy next door to the aardvark costumes (!) -- this is where we had to stop the tape until we felt we could sober up and take it without confusion -- to the psychotic little brother from another planet. Just a wonderful fulfillment of the creator's twisted vision of teen romance and high school hijinks (no movie made by a standard Hollywood committee of moneymen ever had so many deft personal touches). Dense, rich, full of wonderful lines ("You know times are bad when someone be throwing away a perfectly good white boy."), Better Off Dead stays funny and won't collect dust on your shelf.
Rating:
Summary: John Cusack, King of High School FOREVER!
Review: John Cusack has always played the underdog in his teenager days. He also had to work the hardest for the girls to look at him and not pass him over for the buff blonde jock dude. Whether it was One Crazy Summer, Say Anything or Better Off Dead. Even in movies where he has the girl, like Hot Pursuit, he doesn't have it easy. Better Off Dead represent's Lane "Oscar" Meyer's nightmare. He has just lost his girlfriend, doesn't make it on the Ski Team, has the boss from hell and even his 9 year old brother is picking up trashy women, while he can't get any. Oh yeah, there's a psychotic paperboy after him for $2. The movie is about him trying to win back the love of his woman, while not seeing the love that is shown right in front of his face in the form of a perky French Exchange Student. Of course, this isn't a "real" High School Movie, but an allegory of what High School Students feel they go through. It's like a yearbook that has come to life. On that level, it works very well. I always crack up when I see those wacky scenes like Lane being constantly challenged by the Japanese version of Howard Cosell, or finding interesting new ways to commit suicide. It hits a little closer to home because when the movie came out in 1985, I was in the throws of HS society and it had more of an impact that it would to younger kids today (who may see Clueless as a more relevant film). Cusack (like all his other movies) plays the straight (if slightly bewildered) male lead and we feel sorry for what he goes through. Whether it is dueling Ricky Smith for the love of the exchange student or being creamed by the ENTIRE senior basketball Team, we all tend to feel for him because he always seems to get the short end of the stick. His sidekick, Charles (Curtis Armstrong playing the same way he did with his character Booger from Revenge of the Nerds), fills in the moments when Lane becomes a little too serious. However, the movie is so unserious that it is hard to really get any deeper feeling off the movie. It is sort of like that guy (or gal) in high school that knew and was social with everyone, but no one remembers 10 years later because he/she never tried anything other than surface social friendship with anyone. Better Off Dead is not a smart comedy like Real Genius, or one with a message, but it is fun to watch John Cusack for 2 hours play a person like we used to be, get the girl and become the hero of his little world.....Rating: C+
Rating: 
Summary: Not a classic, but extremely funny
Review: Better Off Dead almost perfectly captures the futility (and humor) of high school life. The plot revolves around Lane, a kid who tries very hard to fit in at school in order to impress his ex-girlfriend Beth. This movie has a hilairious cast of characters ranging from Lane's mom who cooks things that literally crawl off the plate, to the geeky, crocheting, nasal-spray snorting Ricky. The problems that Lane has are funny, and being a high school student myself, I can say that this movie has a lot of truth to it. However entertaining this movie is, there are several scenes which I felt could have easily been cut from the movie without disrupting the plot. They almost seemed to be the writer or director's in-jokes. The soundtrack is almost unbearable; it sounds like it was recorded on a child's toy keyboard. However, the innumerable funny scenes, and unforgettable characters compensate for all of that.
Rating:
Summary: Cusack classic
Review: For the two Asians (one of which has learned all the English he knows from Howard Cosell on Wide World of Sports) who constantly drag race Cusack, this flick is worth the price of the video. Of cpurse, it's dumb and stupid but it's also got so many classic bits the blow-dried '80s hairstyles can be overlooked.
Rating:
Summary: Gee Ricky, sorry your mom blew up...
Review: Belly laughs, 80's fashion, down trodden guy gets heart broken by hot blonde, only to end up with the cute brunette girl next door. How many of these movies did we see in the 80's? (teenwolf for one) But we can't get enough! You watched this the first time, not in the theatres, but on channel 11 as a Saturday afternoon movie. This movie will take you back time and time again. Makes me very nostalgic. It is nice to watch without the commercial breaks though. As always, John Cusak is fun to watch, and the gags are funny. Although I love the movie, I can only give it 4 stars. The movie itself is never quite as funny as the memories of the movie.
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